Optimal Structural Design of Compliant Mechanisms : Considering of Quantitative Displacement Constraint

Abstract

Compliant mechanisms are a relatively new breed of jointless mechanisms in which the elastic deformation is intended to be a source of motion. In the past, flexible structural design optimization was cosidered only for the direction of the flexible point by using the material density or the homogenization method to identify the optimum layout. Here we shall extend this design theory to the case of a two dimensional design for compliant mechanisms which can specify the amount of deformation of the flexible portion. Finally, some examples are presented to confirm that the verification of optimal configuration using an image-based design method.